Locking assembly for automobile wheels and parts thereof



p 1943- e. w. SCHATZMAN 2,329,946

LOCKING ASSEMBLY FOR AUTOMOBILE WHEELS AND PARTS THEREOF Filed Feb. 6, 1942 2 SheesSheet 1 62-0265 14/. Ski/72174;

p 1943- e. w. SCHATZMAN 2,329,946

LOCKING ASSEMBLY FOR AUTOMOBILE WHEELS AND PARTS THEREOF Filed Feb. 6, 1942 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I l My invention relates to a locking automobile wheels and parts thereof; "the "genof Figure 1; a l a l "Figure 3 is an enlarged section on ."plarie 'III-- III of Figure 1;

Patented Sept. 21, 1943 're QKIN'G Ass EMBLY roe scram) "WHEELS-AND PARTSTHEREOFJ emge Sch-atzinan, Detroit,-l\/Iich., assignor to Houdaille-Hershey Gorporation, Detroit,

assembly'for eral' object being to provide simple' locking means which can be easily installed on'cars to frustrate the theft of wheels and parts thereof.

More specifically, the object" of the "invention is to provide locking means effective-to frustratedetachrnent of 'a"wheel' from'its "hub for removal of the "entire wheel 'stmct'ur rronri the 'wheel rim.

The various features of my invention are era'- bodied in structure shownon'the drawings, in WhiChi Figure l'is an outer sideelevation, partly'broken away, of a 'wheelto which'my invention isfa'pplied; t K

Figure-2 is an enlarged section onplane I I- -II Figure {l is an enlarged sidevie'wf of 'thefell'd 'portionof'a tire locking ring;

Figure is a sectionon plane'V 4; and

- a'xle spindle, or'the rem-ovalofthe tire from the l Figure fi'is' a'sect'ion 'similar to Figure 2 showing a modified arrangement for tire locking.

The wheel assembly shown on Figure 2 is of a well known type, the wheel comprising the disk In supporting the rim l I, the inner portion of the disk having the holes l2 receiving the studs l3 extending from the brake drum M to receive nuts l5 for securing the disk to the wheel hub, the disk having the central opening It for passageway therethrough of the hub [1 which receives the wheel spindle extending from the axle structure, a hub cap I8 being usually provided for the end of the hub to cover the nut which holds the Wheel to the spindle, the arrangement being well known in the art. The rim II supports the tire [9 having th inflation nipple extending outwardly from the rim.

Describing now the locking assembly, a guard or locking element 2| is provided for the hub cap 18, the element shown being in the form of a strap having its central portion 22 deflected outwardly to form a recess for receiving the hub cap and the end of the hub, a ring 23 being secured in the open end of the recess, as by welding, to surround the hub. The ends 24 of the strap extend radially outwardly adjacent to the wheel disk [0, and one of these ends has the hole 25 therethrough for receiving one of the studs l3 by which the Wheel is secured to the drum M. The nut for this stud is designed especially to ccmii'enrtejtvith a erret-en'-ioe structure-L. This" s ecial nuteoriiprises1 'the inner ead L5 and the outer head ifitietween which-is-tlfiehn- 1nular' *channP? l fthe jha'ds 3 payeenarrer reception of i a wrench for ether ate-1, the inner 1 head P5 engaging against ana -stra end 441 a secure this end and the correspondih of thewhel'disk-to'thehiib P4.

'I he lock structure -L shown fis of' a ifiell ki iown type; It comprises thefbody flil hafirig the sure 29' for-a '-t-ur'iibl-er' air-e r lemma-eye key, the barrel at its" "ner ha 'gtheb'chtiic "pin oroarn iil eligegeatiem me 6t 32 of a' lo6king bolt 33 shiftable radially-"acrossf-the The lock edd ill has extensionf ss iri tne f rm of a cap seam-ai men the eas ariueaaeteu "to receive trieepeeiai a a. I when: themes streeture' is slipped on ater t s hut; -'-the bveldigiid of the '-loek' bolt 33 engages with 1 tl'ieul-ut o head 26 to be shifted inwardly agains sistance of the spring 34 1 1 ritilbolt i reaches *the enamel Tl;

the nut, as clearly shown on Figure 3. A suit-v able washer 35 is interposed between the lock body and the strap end, and the cap part 35 has a spring 37 secured in its top end for abuttin against the outer end of the nut to hold the lock structure against rattling.

To apply the lock structure, its cap 37 is merely slipped over the special nut until the lock bolt 33 is snapped into the channel 27 with its end behind the nut outer head 26. The nut structure is now enclosed by the lock structure and application of tools to the nut structure prevented so that removal of the guard or looking element 2| is frustrated for prevention of access to the hub cap l8 or the Spindle nut for removal of the entire wheel structure from the spindle.

The engagement of the guard element 2! around the hub H and the securing of its end by I the special nut will hold the element against rotire against removal from the wheel or car. As shown, a locking ring 40 is provided of substantially ogee cross section, whose inner part 4l is of arcuate cross section to engage against the inner surface of the outer lip of the wheel rim, and whose outer part is deflected transversely into substantially tubular form 42. This rin has the transverse. split 43 so that it may be opened and spiraled into position on the wheel rim, the adjacent ends of the tubular p rt 42 then receiving a locking pin 44 which at its ends has the channels 45 into which portions 46 of the ring are deflected so as to lock the ring closed and clamped and contracted against the rim. The outer tubular portion 42 of the ring extends radially beyond the outer lip of the rim a suflicient distance to prevent removal of the tire, even when deflated, in a direction outwardly from the wheel. Although the tire might be removed from the wheel in an inward direction,

the tire would then surround the vehicle axis and could not be removed until the wheel disk is detached from the brake drum, or the hub structure with the wheel thereon is detached from the spindle, but such removal is frustrated bythe nut structure which is locked by the lock structure L.

Instead of hav n a separate locking ring for application to the rim to prevent removal of the tire, the modified arrangement shown in Figure 6 may be used in which the outer lipis extended, as indicated at 41, a sumcient distance to prevent removal of the tire in a direction outwardly of the wheel.

I have thus provided a simple and efiicient locking assembly for frustrating theft froman automobile of an entire wheel structure or parts thereof, but I do not desire to be limited to the exact structure and arrangement shown and described, as changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim as follows: 7

1. Locking means for an automobile wheel of the type in which the wheel has a sheet metal sup orting disk apertured to receive threaded studs extending from a brake drum for engagement by nuts to secure the wheel, comprising a narrow sheet metal strap extending diametrally along the front of the wheel disk and havi its middle portion deflected forwardly to U shape to extend along and close to the sides of the wheel hub and across the front of the hub cap, one end of said strap being apertured to receive one of the wheel supporting studs, the nut on said one stud having a locking recess, a lock structure for receiving and enclosing said nut and having a locking bolt engageable in said recess to hold said lock structure to the nut and having key operable means for releasing said bolt, and a reinforcing ring welded to the opposed inner sides of said strap at the inner end of said deflected portion to intimately receive the hub whereby to center the strap and hold it against radial displacement.

2. Locking means for an automobile wheel of the type in which the wheel has a sheet metal supporting disk apertured to receive threaded studs extending from a brake drum for engagement by nuts to secure the wheel, comprising a narrow sheet metal strap extending diametrally along the front of the wheel disk and having its middle portion deflected forwardly to U shape to extend along and close to the sides of the wheel hub and across the front of the hub cap, one end of said strap being apertured to receive one of the wheel supporting studs, the nut on said one stud having a locking recess, a lock structure for receiving and enclosing said nut and having a locking bolt engageable in said recess to hold said lock structure to the nut and having key operable means for releasing said bolt, and a reinforcing ring welded to the opposed inner sides of said strap at the inner end of said deflected portion to intimately receive the hub whereby to center the strap and hold it against radial displacement, the end of said strap adjacent said lock structure being deflected to form an abutment for preventing rotational displacement of the lock structure.

GEORGE W. SCHATZMAN. 

